somehow
Ohia, Ernest Chigaemezu
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AUDIO
Listen to “somehow” by Ohia, Ernest Chigaemezu, read by Aidan Miles-Jamison.
About this poem: This poem was my first real reckoning with the fact that I was leaving my country for another. At the time, I didn’t yet understand the weight of that truth. In the morning, I carried on with my life as if nothing mattered. But, at night, I would bawl my eyes out at the thought of everything I had left behind. So, writing this poem felt necessary; I didn’t want that feeling of letting go to slip away.
This poem was selected as the winner of the Sita Martin Prize for Shō No. 7.
Read about the Sita Martin Prize for emerging poets here, or view past recipients and honorees.
Ohia, Ernest Chigaemezu is a queer Nigerian poet and editor, currently pursuing an MFA in poetry at the University of Alabama, where he also serves as Design Editor for Black Warrior Review. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Lolwe, The Muse, 20:35 Africa, Agbowo, Rigorous, and elsewhere. His chapbook manuscript, The Wanting Flesh, was a finalist for the 2025 Garden Party Collective Chapbook Contest.
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